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Published for the Red River Valley and
Scott and Renee Rossow of Wahpeton, N.D.
SCAM: Officials warn people to COWGIRLS: Try to hold onto their
season run against D-G-F. A5
beware of fake Vikings tickets. A2
Annie Dohman
VOL. 133, NO. 036
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2013 • WAHPETON, ND • BRECKENRIDGE, MN
WWW.WAHPETONDAILYNEWS.COM
75 CENTS
Issues at the schools are not going away
School district
officials continue
push to educate
area taxpayers
Superintendent
asks voters to be
fully educated on
referendum
BY MATTHEW LIEDKE • DAILY NEWS
mattl@wahpetondailynews.com
BY MATTHEW LIEDKE • DAILY NEWS
mattl@wahpetondailynews.com
The Wahpeton Public
School District continued its push to educate
taxpayers
Wednesday
night on what the upcoming referendum is
asking of citizens.
The meeting included a power point presentation and allowed
Superintendent
Rick
Jacobson, Central Elementary School Principal Steve Hockert and
Business Manager Laura Dokken to explain
the various points of
the project to the audience.
Jacobson opened the
meeting with how the idea
of a school renovation
project got started. The
superintendent explained
that much of it originated
with discussion on issues
at Central. From there,
Jacobson said officials felt
the time was right to pursue a referendum when
looking at finances and
what was going on at the
state legislature.
A timeline of events
was presented, starting
with when school administrators partnered
with DLR Group and T.L.
Stroh. It then described
how a committee, made
up of various community members, met in the
spring to give feedback
on assessments, school
efficiency, available options and deficiencies at
the school.
In his address, Hockert described the solutions to bring
the
district up-to-date. He
explained that Central
Elementary would be
decommissioned
and
went over how the scope
school buildings. "This
project can benefit students, stakeholders and
the community."
Jon Stelton, a parent of
a kindergarten student
in the Wahpeton School
The date for the special election on whether
to approve Wahpeton
School District's plan for
a renovation project continues to get closer and
Superintendent Rick Jacobson wants citizens to
be fully educated on the
matter, whichever way
they want to vote.
"People want to know
what they are going to
get as far as their property tax relief," Jacobson said. "We knew it
wouldn't cost any more,
but we also told everyone that this is not for
free. People have to decide whether they feel it's
worth it."
According to recent
calculations by Wahpeton City Assessor Carla
Broadland,
homeowners would see property
taxes decrease, with or
without the referendum,
with a differential in the
amount.
In 2012, on a $100,000
home, a citizen would pay
$1,815.15 in property taxes.
The calculations showed
that with no referendum
passed,
that
number
would be $1,371.70, which
is a decrease of $443.55 in
property tax relief. Comparably, with the referendum, a citizen would pay
$1,597.42, providing $217.83
in property tax relief.
Broadland explained
that citizens would see
a 12 percent decrease if
the referendum passes,
instead of a 24.43 percent
decrease in property
taxes. If the referendum
indeed came to pass,
SEE MEETING, PAGE A3
SEE REFERENDUM, PAGE A3
SUBMITTED
When Wahpeton School officials explain their reasons for asking for a referendum, Central Elementary problems are at
the top of their list. Superintendent Rick Jacobson offered a picture of one issue at Central, above, at the south tunnel
entrance, where plumbing for the kitchen and water fountains needs to be updated, which could be a huge undertaking.
Left: Wahpeton Public Schools Superintendent Rick Jacobson explains the importance of the referendum that will be
put to vote Oct. 1. During a public meeting held Wednesday, Jacobson explained the reasoning and timeline of
events to the audience. Above: Is the official ballot voters
will see Oct. 1 asking for a 'yes' vote to approve the referendum.
of the project would create a new addition, connecting the elementary
to Wahpeton Middle
School.
Hockert also discussed
the many benefits of constructing and upgrading
the schools, including
how it will help the stu-
dents compete better in
the world, and keep the
district current with
technology.
"We are using the property tax relief to help pay
for this project," Dokken said, addressing
the financial side of the
district's proposal. She
added that citizens' taxes
wouldn't increase unless
a person's valuation was
to change.
"It would be a missed
opportunity,"
Dokken
said, citing funding that
would no longer be available and the continued
deterioration
of
the
Wahpeton woman sentenced
on multiple drug charges
BY MATTHEW LIEDKE • DAILY NEWS
mattl@wahpetondailynews.com
A Wahpeton woman
was sentenced Tuesday,
Sept. 17 on charges of delivering a controlled substance.
Mary Lenora Leighton,
35, was sentenced on four
counts of delivery with
a controlled substance.
Each count came with a
sentence of three years at
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the North Dakota Department of Corrections, to be
served concurrently.
T h e
sentence
included
credit for
eight days
already
served
and a supervised
Leighton
probation
period of
five years after her release.
The charges came after
an investigation by the
Southeast Multi-County
Agency that occurred
early in fall of 2012. According to a criminal
complaint from the Richland County State's At-
Coming
MN Lic: #BC594693
218-824-1455
www.jnsbuilders.com
torney's office, Leighton
willfully delivered 3.5
grams of methamphetamine to a confidential
informant on Aug. 23,
2012.
Leighton repeated the
process three times at
later dates. On Aug. 31,
2012 Leighton delivered
3 grams of methamphetamine to the informant,
on Sept. 4 she delivered 7
grams and on Sept. 7 she
delivered 14 grams.
A warrant of arrest
CARRIE MCDERMOTT •DAILY NEWS
was issued Jan. 9, 2013
and was served Jan. 11,
2013. Richland County
State's Attorney Ron McBeth said the sentence
was common for what Country and classic rock band Raw Sugar, from Lisbon, N.D., played at the Twin Town GardenLeighton was charged er's' Market in Wahpeton Thursday afternoon while shoppers picked up locally-grown produce,
baked goods and handcrafted items.
with.
Music at the market
l
Greenquist Academy celebrates 30th
anniversary with huge demonstration and testing
Sunday
Inside
TWIN TOWNS AREA
A3 DEAR ABBY
OBITUARIES
A3 WONDERWORD
OPINION
A4 CLASSIFIEDS
SPORTS
A5-6 WORLD/NATION
COMICS
A7 WEATHER
CROSSWORD
A7
l Outside
A7
A7
A8-9
A10
A10
l
Tonight: Clear
High: 61 Low: 41
Tomorrow: Sunny
High in 60s
A10

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